So Did He Throw A Party For The Hygienist?

A few weeks ago we published a question from Dr. Mitchell Josephs. Just in case you forgot, here is the question:

Dear Madow Brothers,

After 21 fantastic years in the practice, my hygienist Susie is retiring. She has treated several generations of patients here and everyone loves her.

Should I send an email blast out to our existing patients (coming from her) telling everyone of her retirement, or just inform patients the day before their recall appointments that Susie retired, Ms. Schtupalot will be seeing you today!?”

On one hand I don’t want my patients to claim I did “not inform them”, but on the other hand I don’t want to give them an opportunity to start calling around to find someone else “closer to home” for their cleanings.

Thanks for your advice,

Dr. Mitchell Josephs Palm Beach, FLSo – we asked for suggestions from readers of Coaches Corner, and they came in like crazy! They ranged from doing absolutely nothing to holding a big retirement party for the hygienists and inviting the entire community. So what did Dr. Josephs do? Here it is.

All my patients who thought that my previous hygienist, Susie, of 22 years was the greatest thing since sliced Mandel loaf, now think my new hygienist Rita is the “best they ever had.”

While I was slaving over my drill for 22 years, Susie was not keeping up with perio charting, x-rays and diagnosing and treating perio disease. She would chit chat for 45 min, and clean teeth for 15 min. Poor leadership on my part! I was too busy worrying about my end of the practice and keeping my chair filled. I ignored hygiene.

The new RDH is on average producing 50% more revenue than the previous one.

From your consensus of your DDS’s way to handle the transition, I went with: “Do nothing, other than when confirming their hygiene appointment on the phone, just tell them ‘Susie retired and you will love her successor Rita.’ ” Some people suggested I “should have a retirement party for Susie, inviting my patients and introducing her to the new gal.” My feeling on this suggestion? Screw dat!

Cheers!

Dr. Mitchell JosephsJust in case you are wondering, Dr. J has an extremely successful practice in South Florida. But as we have experienced with just about every one of our coaching clients, even great practices could use some improvement, and it usually takes someone from the outside (that’s us!) to do the diagnosis. Wanna chat about it? Just let us know!Coach Rich
Coach Dave

Dr. David Madow and Dr. Richard Madow are actual dentists who have been helping dental offices become more successful for over 28 years. They are down to earth, real people who personally connect with their clients and are proud to call them friends. If you have a question for this column, please write to them at coaches@madow.com. We are now offering a complimentary 30-minute coaching session! Please CLICK HERE to schedule yours. Doctors only please.